Contemplative Bible Reading

Malachi 3:8-12 (New International Version)

⁸ “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’
“In tithes and offerings. ⁹ You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. ¹¹ I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. ¹² “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.

How can a person rob God? God is all powerful, so I cannot over power Him, threaten to “give me you things or else.” God is all knowing, so I cannot out smart Him, pick His pocket when He isn’t looking.

So, how can a person rob God? But here we have it, God is angry with His people because they are robbing from Him. They are not giving tithes and offerings as God requested.

There are things that God wants from us. In the Old Testament, He told His people what he expected them to do and give. In our times, He tells us what he wants us to do, feel, say, have in our hearts.

Do we rob God? Well, are we giving Him what he asks of us?

Ezekial 33:11 (New International Version)

Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?’

People love to see other people get what they deserve. That is only fair, and we have a sense of fairness from our childhoods.

Once again, God thinks, feels, and acts differently from us. He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Note, the death of the wicked. The W I C K E D. The wicked are supposed to die. The wicked are supposed to be punished. That is the way things go, right? What is wrong with that?

God would prefer the wicked turning from their ways and living.

What do I prefer? Too often I have taken pleasure in seeing “bad people” be punished, get what they deserve. How often do I wish, do I pray that “bad people” will turn around and be good people? Sadly, not very often.

God, help me to think more like you. Help me to pray for bad people to change their ways. Help me to pray for myself, so that I don’t wish destruction on bad people.

Esther 6:6 (New International Version)

When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”
Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?”

The history of Esther is one of my favorites in the Bible. One of my favorite characters in the history is Haman. He is an evil-filled person, wanting to destroy Esther, Mordecai, and all the Jews. Poor Haman. He can’t seem to get out of his own way. His hatred of the Jews is only matched by his bumbling.

The verse above is one of my favorites of this and all histories given in the Old Testament.

Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?

This is the ultimate in being self-centered. Honor me! Of course, who else?

Things didn’t end well for Haman as he was eventually hanged on a gallows that he built for someone else.

Zechariah 8:16-17 (New International Version)

¹⁶ These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; ¹⁷ do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the LORD.

Such a simple phrase: Speak the truth to each other.

That ought to be easy enough. Repeat what has happened with no embellishment, no twists and turns, no extra material. It is much harder to create false information, remember it, keep the story straight, keep it going, and all that. I guess there is something in us that wants to, well I don’t know, add a little something to the truth.

I feel that failure to speak the truth is from different types of fear.

Fear – we are afraid to tell someone that we made a mistake. That we are less than perfect.

Fear – we are afraid that if someone knows what we really do, they won’t like us. They will abandon us, and we will be alone.

Fear – we are afraid of the consequences of someone knowing the truth. The impression I have from verse 17 is that the person has created a scheme to cheat their neighbor out of material goods. If the truth is known, the cheater won’t have the valuable goods. The cheater fears the financial consequences of speaking the truth.

God, help me to love the truth. Help me to speak the truth. Help me to remove fear from my life and replace it with love.

Psalms 118:6 (New International Version)

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

I find three large sermons in this one little verse. What to discuss in a short blog post? All three.

The foundation is the first phrase: the Lord is with me. Yes, He is with me, all the time, in every place, in every situation, in every emotion, in every…well in everything I can conceive and also in everything that my mind cannot conceive.

Because the Lord is with me, I will not be afraid. Now the situation changes. The Lord is with me; that is His promise; that is in His power, and that is absolute. No one can do anything to change that. This second phrase is my doing. Will I ever be afraid? Yes, probably.

Should I ever be afraid? I don’t know the answer to that one. Someone pulls in front of me in traffic, I slam on the brakes, I don’t know if my vehicle will stop in time, and I am afraid of hurting someone. That is fear, but is that in violation of what is written here? I don’t know.

Should I live in long-term fear and dread? I think not. The Lord is with me, and I should take confidence and courage in that promise.

The situation changes again with the third phrase, what can man do to me? Well, man can to a lot of things to me, and I would rather avoid many of those things. Do I, however, understand the scope of what man can do to me in relation to eternity? In relation to what God potentially and actually does for me? In that perspective, man cannot do anything of any real consequence to me. My problem is that my mind tends to consider the short-term, the tiny, the inconsequential as long, big, and important.

God, help me to know that you are always with me. Help me to squelch my little fears. Help me to consider the eternal. Help me to understand that what we do here in this life may seem important at the time, but of little consequence.

Zechariah 7:8-10 (New International Version)

⁸ And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: ⁹ “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. ¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.’

Here God speaks to His people through the prophet Zechariah. The people wanted to know what to do. They were searching. Surely they were doing something wrong. How could they improve how they followed the law?

God wanted His people to follow the law He had given them. In addition, God wanted His people to understand and live the spirit of the law. Two things that God wanted them to do were:

1. administer true justice
2. show mercy and compassion to one another

God had given specific instructions on what was just and unjust. If someone stole something, they were to redeem that by doing such-and-such. If someone cheated someone else, they were to make amends by doing such-and-such. The punishment for this was that, and the punishment for that was this. God laid it all out for them, the just and the unjust. Some of His people followed the letter of the law for some of the time, but mostly, they didn’t understand the principles.

In the same manner, God had given specific instructions on how to treat those less fortunate than yourselves. God knew there would be some of his people who were poor. God knew some of his people would suffer tragic loss of life and property. He set aside rules for aiding those people. In the same manner, some of His people followed the letter of the law for some of the time, but mostly, they didn’t understand the principles.

Here God asks that they understand the principles.

God, help me to understand the principles. Help me to see through the  details and live the principles. Help me to live justly and to show mercy and compassion to all those around  me.

Judges 16:28 (New International Version)

Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.”

Samson prays the above just before his death. Samson’s history is recorded in Judges chapters 13 through 16. This man led quite a life. I cannot say that he exercised good judgment in much of that life. He married he wrong women; he spent time with the wrong sorts of men, and he generally was a mess.

Still, at the end of his life, Samson turned to the Lord. He said this one last prayer, and in the beginning of this prayer he utters the words, “Lord, remember me.”

Three simple words. Yet, what else can a person pray? I see Samson doing two things with these three words.

First, Samson acknowledges God as Lord, as leader, as ruler. I am only a person while you are Lord of everything. I submit to you.

Second, Samson asks God to acknowledge himself. God, please keep me in mind. Know that I am here, know my needs, know my failings, do with me as only you can do.

There is much that most of us raised in Sunday school remember about Samson. There is Delilah, the strength, the hair, burning the fields by tying torches to the tails of foxes, killing men with an animal’s jawbone, and so on. From now on, I will try to remember these three words from Samson. When in doubt, I will pray these three words:

Lord, remember me.

Deuteronomy 6:10-12 (New International Version)

¹⁰ When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

God’s people are about to enter the land he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Notice what will be in the land:

• cities
• houses
• goods
• wells
• vineyards
• olive groves

Also notice that these things will be standing there when the people arrive. They did not make, build, plant, grow, or provide any of them. These are blessing that “the Lord your God gives you.”

These people walked into a land already built and tilled and prosperous. They were so lucky. In many ways I wish God would give me lots of nice things that I didn’t have to make, build, or earn.

Oooops.

It is easy to forget about the spiritual things that God has given me that I have not earned. These great gifts from the Lord to His people in the Old Testament is like the great gifts from the Lord to us today.

God, thank you for the physical things you have given me. Thank you for the ability to earn money to provide things for my family and me. More important, thank you for the spiritual blessings that I have not earned, that I could never earn.

2 Chronicles 28:6-8 (New International Version)

⁶ In one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah—because Judah had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers. ⁷ Zicri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, second to the king. ⁸ The Israelites took captive from their kinsmen two hundred thousand wives, sons and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder, which they carried back to Samaria.

There are many battles described in the Old Testament – tales of ancient warfare. This was all quite entertaining as a boy. It seemed that war was exciting. As an older man with sons the age of warriors, it isn’t so exciting. It isn’t surprising that I read accounts of battles differently now. Consider this battle mentioned above between Israel and their brothers in Judah.

Israel killed 120,000 soldiers from Judah in one day. 120,000 killed in one day. Imagine the horror; imagine the weeping.

In addition, Israel took captive 200,000 women and children and carried them away to Samaria. 200,000 people taken away prisoner.

What a terrible day.

It was so terrible that the prophet Oded told the army that enough was enough. He told them to send the 200,000 back.

⁹ But a prophet of the LORD named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, “Because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven. ¹⁰ And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the LORD your God? ¹¹ Now listen to me! Send back your fellow countrymen you have taken as prisoners, for the LORD’s fierce anger rests on you.”

Compassion prevailed.

¹⁴ So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly. ¹⁵ The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink, and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow countrymen at Jericho, the City of Palms, and returned to Samaria.

God, you have blessed me so. Please God, bless me so that I never see such a terrible day in my life.

Exodus 40:20-21 (New International Version)

²⁰ He took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it. ²¹ Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the Testimony, as the LORD commanded him.

Notice the simple language, He took the Testimony… We have no description of this testimony; we have no explanation of which testimony. It is simply, the Testimony, and the translators use a capital “T” in the word.

Everyone knows which testimony Moses is putting in the ark and in the tabernacle. It is the testimony of God.

The site dictionary.com defines testimony as “the statement or declaration of a witness under oath or affirmation, usually in court.” A latter definition given there is “The stone tablets inscribed with the Law of Moses.”

The people were not confused and they needed no further explanation. They knew that there were many testimonies from men, many stories men could tell as their truth for a situation. They also knew that the Lord had given them one testimony, one declaration of truth for them.

God, help me to be a testimony, a declaration of truth of the love and grace that you bring to each of us.